Creeker's Past Week's Accomplishments

[Rod Sheridan]

Hello everyone, we're getting closer to the Christmas season so the little shop time I've had has been consumed by putting wheels on the wood rabbit toys, building a bird feeder as well as making one in kit form for a friend's son.

Ask me if I was surprised to find out one 6 foot cedar fence board now costs $10....

Of course there's also been tons of other holiday season tasks and festivities, it always seems to be the busiest part of the year.

Bird Feeder Kit.jpgBird Feeder.jpg

So, what were you doing last week?

Regards, Rod.

[Jim Becker]

Shop time sounds nice, but I'm still a bit away from being able to do that as my wrist heals from my recent proximal row carpectomy surgery to eliminate a bone on bone situation. But the healing is going well...and most wonderfully, I get the brace off tomorrow which means I once again have TWO opposable thumbs available for use. Cooking has been "fun", not to mention doing literally everything with my left, non dominant hand! But then again, not starts the PT that will be required for quite a few weeks to help insure maximum range of motion. I might just sneak into the shop a little when I have the opportunity, too. LOL Doing "who knows what", of course...

[Paul F Franklin]

One of the unofficial heads of our area pickleball group is throwing a holiday party for the regular players, so I decided a pickleball themed gift is in order. I've worked up the design for a cheese/charcuterie/cutting board and have been working on that. Cutting boards are such a common project for woodworkers, it was funny when I realized that I've never made one in the 50 years I've been doing woodworking in one form or another....

Another surprise is how long shipping times have gotten already. I ordered a couple of router bits, some walnut dowels, and a couple of other things for the project. Everything was in stock, and most of it shipped within a day or two, but most of it still hasn't arrived 7-10 days later. I definitely will not be ordering anything at the last minute this year.

[John TenEyck]

I've been working on another wood gear clock. This is the first one of my own design. Well, mostly. Not many people actually develop an original escapement, the device that controls the release of the pendulum, spring, etc. We all use one developed by some genius, usually from several hundred years ago. I'm using John Harrison's grasshopper escapement, which is one challenging little device to design and build. I'm using Harrison's grasshopper because it is virtually silent. No tick, tock, tick, tock. My wife finds that noise very irritating so in order to have peace, and a new clock, I want this clock to be as silent as possible. And it is. It makes virtually no discernable noise from just a few feet away.

The rest of the going train (clock works) is my own design. Lots of challenges, including one that led to a major change. I built a test clock to prove out everything works, only to find out it wouldn't run very long. I traced the problem to friction between an arbor and tube riding on it that was integral to my design. The only way to overcome the problem with the current going train arrangement was to use a remontoire, another invention from hundreds of years ago. Look it up. Very interesting.

I have countless hours in this project - and miles to go before I sleep. All very enjoyable.

John

[Bruce Wrenn]

Helped set up Toys for Tots Workshop on Friday. At workshop, local woodworking club assembled over 1000 push cars. I had cut the bodies out in August. Broke down shop late Saturday afternoon. Wife broke her little finger last Sunday, so we spent an afternoon in ER, and later in the week in orthopedic office. Went by the Honey Baked Ham store and picked up some ham bones, each of which still has over 3# of ham still on them. Friday night we ate dinner with my shared birthday friend and his wife. Replaced the battery in daughter's car, which despite testing the contrary, was bad. Winterized the power washer, removed seasonal spigots, disconnected hoses and drained hose reels. Lit both gas logs, and emergency gas heater to burn off dust while we could open up the house and get smell out. Got Christmas lights onto fence out by the road. Placed Christmas flowers on wife's parents graves. Due wife's broken finger, collected money at Wednesday night meal at church, which she was supposed to have done. Lady who was to help wife, broke her foot, so another friend stepped up and helped also. Went to church on Sunday. Made biscuits on Saturday morning for myself, grandson and some of the widows in SS class.

[Cameron Wood]

The butcher block top needs a few more coats, and the legs and stretchers built and painted. Fine tuning the jobsite planer. Scrounged almost 200 BF of redwood for free, & cleaning that up. Still working on the bunch of glu lam and other beams scrounged last weekend. Planning and end table from chunky PSL beam pieces. The backyard cottage remodel continues endlessly- sheetrock, siding, interior trim. Wife had surgery on shoulder so on nurse duty.

[Mark Rainey]

I've been working on another wood gear clock. This is the first one of my own design. Well, mostly. Not many people actually develop an original escapement, the device that controls the release of the pendulum, spring, etc. We all use one developed by some genius, usually from several hundred years ago. I'm using John Harrison's grasshopper escapement, which is one challenging little device to design and build. I'm using Harrison's grasshopper because it is virtually silent. No tick, tock, tick, tock. My wife finds that noise very irritating so in order to have peace, and a new clock, I want this clock to be as silent as possible. And it is. It makes virtually no discernable noise from just a few feet away.

The rest of the going train (clock works) is my own design. Lots of challenges, including one that led to a major change. I built a test clock to prove out everything works, only to find out it wouldn't run very long. I traced the problem to friction between an arbor and tube riding on it that was integral to my design. The only way to overcome the problem with the current going train arrangement was to use a remontoire, another invention from hundreds of years ago. Look it up. Very interesting.

I have countless hours in this project - and miles to go before I sleep. All very enjoyable.

John

Glad you continue your journey John. Post on your progress. Have you been to the National Clock and Watch Museum in Columbia Pennsylvania? It is a gem. If you decide to visit, let me know, I might join you. Mark

[Tom M King]

I sanded and refinished the floor in the bedroom used by my Mom for the three years that she lived with us. There was a bit of a deadline because we have two litters of puppies due about the same time. Pam and I used to sleep on a foam mattress near one litter if we had two litters born close together. The Moms like to have their own private room to raise babies in. For us, sleeping on a foam mattress on the floor is not as okay as it used to be.

The room is just 12x16, so I just used my floor buffer with 60 grit sanding screens to get the old finish off and down to bare wood. Back in business with a new bed and ready to go. Second photo was while the last coat was wet. It evened out nicely as it dried.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Best wishes Jim on your recovery and for successful out come. It sounds like you are getting good care. Your post last week had me imagining reconstructive surgery like that of The 6 Million Dollar Man. I am looking for the scene where Steve Austin carves a heart in a tree with his fingers.

Six Million Dollar Man - Bionic Lumberjackeng | Six Million Dollar Man - Bionic Lumberjack | By Extreme Machines | Facebook

[Jim Becker]

LOL...that reference to the Six Million Dollar Man brings fond memories from watching as a kid. Brace is off; cast is on for four weeks before PT starts. They want the joint to fully stabilize before I begin the torture. But with the short cast, I have a huge increase in the use of my fingers and thumb...I'm literally typing this with two hands in a sorta normal way. Sorta.

[Tom M King]

Sometimes time passing faster for us now is a good thing.

[Jim Becker]

Sometimes time passing faster for us now is a good thing.

True, but there are also trade-offs!!

[Warren Lake]

getting into the swing of things half way through this over 100 year old maple that came down at my neighbours. Another 6 foot base tree over 100 years old that has come down. I think silver Maple. Losing our character one by one.

This one of my two modified Chopper 1 axes I have this one for now putting up with the fiberglass (boing) handle till time to remove it and make a wood one one. I cant stand many handles on axes and hammers. Most are too small.

Other head broke that handle twice. Axe works amazing, operator doing the usual get the form together.

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[Daniel O'Neill]

There's a building supply auction near me where a sawyer has taken to bringing slabs and various hardwoods. Some are good some are not. I purchased 4 slabs of black walnut, 1 cherry slab, 1 cherry beam and a couple of maple beams for a decent price. All green. I've been cutting stickers and stacking them using a new strapping tool. I've been reading the forums and the sawmill side trying to figure out the process. I'd like to store them outside but they'll be full of rodents and carpenter bees pretty quick so I might keep the slabs in the shop for awhile unless I can figure something else out. 10 year anniversary this weekend so that was fun The kids kept running around saying happy family anniversary! Type of weekend where it's extra hard to go to work on Monday.

[John TenEyck]

Glad you continue your journey John. Post on your progress. Have you been to the National Clock and Watch Museum in Columbia Pennsylvania? It is a gem. If you decide to visit, let me know, I might join you. Mark

Thanks for your response, Mark. I'm such a newcomer to clocks that didn't know about the National Clock and Watch Museum. That looks like a great place to visit if I'm in the area. I will definitely let you know if my plans take me that way.

The searchable literature on their site is going to be very helpful already.

John